The Dead End Kidz
Unfinished Business Independent

by Derric Miller
Staff Writer

Comments: If you think KISS isn’t still inspiring a generation of rock bands, you are only fooling yourself. From the brazenly makeup adorned and screamingly talented Miss Crazy to a New York-based raw and heavy rock outfit like The Dead End Kidz, KISS still leaves their mark on today’s music. With The Dead End Kidz, you’ll also hear a bit of Ron Keel in the vocals, who is also a huge KISS fan. So, if modern rock like Nickleback is your thing, Unfinished Business probably isn’t for you. But if you love KISS-like anthems, soaring guitar solos and simple yet memorable lyrics, The Dead End Kidz want you to join their growing army as well.

The CD begins with “It’s Now or Never,” and when vocalist John Erigo opens his mouth, you’ll definitely hear a Keel-like color to his vocals, even if Erigo himself doesn’t list Keel as an influence. The chorus is simple and melodic, “It’s now or never, you’ve to choose. It’s now or never, what’s it gonna be!” Maybe they didn’t earn any poetic style points, but it’s not like they care. This is no-frills rock ‘n’ roll with a dual-guitar attack from Scott Carlson and Michael LoBianco, and it’s way cooler than poetry.

Up next is “The One,” a bass-led rocker allowing Kevin Edell to shred on bass, building into a pounding rock anthem. It’s meaner than the opening song, and maybe even more powerful. You’ll be pulled in by Carlson’s solo again; he’s got a rich, full and clear playing style that paints the band in a heavier light.

For the KISS detractors, the problem was always how the songs were short and sounded familiar. That might be the knock on the The Kidz, because the songs “One Way Ride” and “Take a Shot” are less than memorable and easily interchangeable.

They update one of their earliest hits with the track “I Know What I Want ’07.” The band has been around since the mid-90s, and this was one of their first compositions. Well, throw Black N’ Blue and Keel together, and this would be the song that comes out of this writing session. It bleeds ’80’s hard rock, playful and menacing and again, anthemic.

The song “Time to Go” has a more drunken vibe, almost like a The Ramones hit. You don’t get a lot of strong backing vocals from the band, and maybe this is a production problem or the band just prefers Erigo handle the vocal leads. At only 2:22 in length, it seems to be the song you are going to keep going back to, maybe because it’s less uniform than the other compositions.

Unfinished Business gets finished on “Let Me In.” While a little grungier than the other songs, and you’ll hear Erigo add some grit to his vocals, it’s really no different than many of the prior songs on the release.

The Dead End Kidz write good songs, are strong musicians and in lead singer John Erigo they clearly want to bring back the 1980s. Your affinity for music had best lie in those years as well, or this release will release you in a few spins. Based on the millions of CDs bands like KISS and Keel have sold, though, they shouldn’t have any problems finding a fan base who want nothing more than to be entertained with the kind of music that spans generations and won’t stop spreading any time soon.

www.myspace.com/dekmusic

Track Listing:
It’s Now or Never
The One
One Way Ride
Take a Shot
I Know What I Want ‘07
Do It Yourself
Time to Go
1,000 Lies
Let Me In

Hardrock Haven rating: 7/10